UK Civil Society Almanac 2024

The UK Civil Society Almanac, published annually by NCVO, is the definitive publication on the state of the voluntary sector. Widely cited by the media, it is used extensively by sector leaders, policy makers, journalists and academics.

First published in 1996, the Almanac gives an overview of the voluntary sector’s scope and characteristics, including its finances, workforce, and volunteers.

The dataset

It draws upon a unique historical dataset based on charity annual reports and accounts from the year 2000/01 onwards, plus data and evidence from government and sector research including the Community Life Survey, the Labour Force Survey and NCVO’s own research.

The Almanac dataset was developed in partnership with the Third Sector Research Centre at the University of Birmingham, using data from the Charity Commission and a representative sample of charity accounts.

Data for Scotland is provided by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), and for Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA).

'General charities'

The Almanac is based on our definition of ‘general charities’ (which matches the Office for National Statistics (ONS) definition). This captures the voluntary sector’s contribution to GDP to the National Accounts.

We use this subset of charities as a measure of the voluntary sector due to challenges about data quality and availability for organisations that are not registered charities.

Charity salaries and vacancy levels

In 2024, for the second year running, the Almanac features a section on charity vacancies and salary levels, produced in partnership with CharityJob, the UK’s leading specialised job board for non-profit, NGO, social enterprise, CIC and voluntary roles.

We will continue to build on this data partnership in future to produce relevant insights for the charity sector.

On our website, anybody can access and download the charts and tables. You can use this data to:

• understand the scope and scale of the voluntary sector
• highlight the value of the sector, influence policy, and strengthen your campaigns
• inform your organisation’s financial plan and fundraising strategy
• assist with your board’s strategic thinking
• compare your organisation against others
• explain the context your organisation works in
• understand workforce trends in the sector and what this might mean for you
• improve your volunteer recruitment and involvement.

We carry out further analysis throughout the year which we publish in various forms, including briefings, reports, blogs, and social media content.

We also undertake bespoke research based on our financial data for a range of voluntary organisations, public and private bodies, and academic researchers.